Head Gardener
Head Gardener required
This is fantastic opportunity for someone looking to work in beautiful and varied gardens on the car free, stress free, tax free island of Sark.
We provide quality accommodation as well as a competitive salary.
We are looking for an energetic, motivated person with a cheerful and positive attitude to take on the role of working Head Gardener for the grounds of our 23-bedroom country house hotel, 7 bedroom B&B, self-catering property and large organic market gardens on Sark in the Channel Islands.
The gardens include approximately 4 acres of landscaped grounds with a large proportion of this being vegetable gardens and orchards.
The ornamental grounds are mainly lawns and large borders with some shrubbery beds and seasonal planting.
The vegetable and fruit production is managed organically and incorporates permaculture and biodynamic ideas. It includes a raised bed vegetable garden, a greenhouse for propagation, a mixed fruit orchard, a large circular, permaculture vegetable and flower cutting garden, a wild woodland, Rydan composter and compost heaps, a large chicken pen and a new cedar frame glass house.
The property also includes an 80 acre farm consisting of grassland paddocks for grazing of sheep and the horses used by the hotel for the horse & carriage guest transport. (There are no cars allowed on Sark). We also have a large solar panel installation to provide most of our power. Some field and boundary maintenance will be required.
We are looking for a skilled and experienced Head Gardener to lead our small team of permanent local and seasonal workers.
The job is very much a hands-on role and applicants will be expected to roll up their sleeves and be able to do all the jobs alongside the other staff. It will also involve organizing this team, liaising with the hotel staff and working closely with the Head Chef to be able to supply a large variety of seasonal fruit and vegetables to the hotel kitchen. It is suitable for someone with excellent communication skills and the ability to motivate and foster a great working environment.
The gardens are open to the public and tours of the vegetable production area are available to guests. Giving these tours will suit someone who is passionate about the gardens and really proud of their team’s achievements.
We require someone with an enthusiastic approach to life and someone who finds enjoyment and reward in passing on their expertise to colleagues and visitors alike.
Competence in all horticultural techniques is essential, especially vegetable, fruit and flower production, and seasonal plant cultivation. You will need to have a working knowledge of power tools and the ability to use them.
We have been improving and developing the gardens in recent years as well as raising their profile. They are now a very important part of the hotel as well as an attraction in their own right and they have won a Bailiwick award for horticultural excellence. We would like to continue to improve and build on this success.
Key Responsibilities
- Active gardening including:-
- Preparing and planning seasonal planting
- Propagating bedding and border plants
- Weeding and maintaining flower beds.
- Planting and harvesting vegetables.
- Watering and setting up watering systems.
- Mowing, strimming, hedge cutting
- Communication with the owners, hotel manager and maintenance team.
- Day to day management of all gardens and staff.
- Liaising with the head chef and delivering all produce.
- Liaising with the housekeeping manager and delivering all cut flowers, potted plants etc.
- Overseeing the Ridan composter to re-cycle food waste from the hotel kitchen.
- Ordering all seeds, bulbs and garden sundries.
- Maintenance and care of all tools and machinery.
- Balancing the management of all areas for the benefit of guests, produce, livestock and wildlife.
- Keeping accurate garden records.
- Lead by example to ensure the gardens, grounds and associated buildings are always beautifully presented and kept.
- Giving short, guided tours of the gardens to hotel guests.
- Maintenance of current ornamental planting and development of further areas.
This private advert is being managed directly by the employer. English Country Gardeners are not involved in the hiring process and are therefore unable to share any additional information on this role. If you have any questions regarding this position, the best course of action is to apply for the job which will open a line of communication with the employer.
If you would like to view more information on the Professional Gardeners Guild, please click here and the Royal Horticultural Society, please click here
For more gardener roles please click here
